Israeli government collapses, forcing 4th election in 2 years

JERUSALEM • Israel's government has collapsed, pushing the country into yet another early election - the fourth in two years.

The Israeli Parliament dissolved itself at midnight on Tuesday, forcing a new election after weeks of infighting in the so-called unity government, an uneasy coalition sworn in just seven months ago that paired Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conservative Likud party with his main rival-turned-partner, Mr Benny Gantz of the centrist Blue and White party.

Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gantz blamed each other for the crisis.

"We should have united forces to find a way to avert these needless elections," Mr Netanyahu said in Parliament as he tried, and failed, to delay its dissolution.

A new election is scheduled for March 23.

Parliament automatically dispersed after failing to meet the legal deadline to approve a budget for 2020. Mr Netanyahu, whose party holds the finance portfolio, had refused to present a budget, violating his coalition agreement with Mr Gantz - the ostensible reason for the government breakdown.

But at the heart of the crisis lies a deep, mutual distrust between the two men and a country fundamentally split over the fate of Mr Netan-yahu, whose corruption trial will move into an intensive stage early next year, requiring his regular presence in court.

He has been charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He denies any wrongdoing.

Analysts say Mr Netanyahu is gambling on another election, hoping to form a right-wing, religious government that will grant him immunity from prosecution.

Mr Reuven Hazan, a professor of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said Mr Netanyahu "needs a government that will pass legislation either to delay his case for the foreseeable future or cancel it altogether".

The current situation provides him with an escape hatch from the coalition agreement stipulating that Mr Gantz take over as prime minister 11 months from now.

From the inception of the unity government, few people, including Mr Gantz, expected Mr Netanyahu to honour that agreement.

Mr Gantz's party refused to back any compromise with Mr Netan-yahu over the authority for making key appointments. A compromise would have violated the party's flagship policy of upholding the rule of law but would have kept the government on life support.

Mr Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister renowned for his political savvy, quickly pivoted into campaign mode.

"The majority of the citizens of Israel see our leadership and our tremendous achievements," he said in a televised address on Tuesday evening. "We are bringing in millions of vaccinations, delivering historic peace agreements, curbing the Iranian threat and turning Israel into one of the world's leading economies."

Mr Gantz said his party had entered Mr Netanyahu's government despite paying a high political price, "to serve the best interests of the country, given the needs and scale of the moment".

"Unfortunately," he said, "we found no partner on the other end."

NYTIMES